As far as PJRT goes K is doing amazing. We haven't had any heart concerns in over a year.
Since my last update new news has come up though.
First: I've been actively pursing a diagnosis for K's learning disability(ies?). We had IEP testing done last February, it showed she was just under or in the low end of "average" in most areas and above average in a few areas. She did not qualify for an IEP, which is fine since we homeschool and I don't care to drive her that far for extra resources. The next step was made after her 8 year well child exam, our pediatrician referred us to Alternative Behavior Strategies for a diagnosis by a psychiatrist. K was officially diagnosed with Level 1 Autism just this January. We are now seeking therapy to help K learn, our specific concern is her language barriers, while she can, and willingly will (almost too willingly lol) speak appropriately, there are barriers there that are hindering her ability to read and understand language, which is holding her back in reading, literature and language arts in a big way. We are also starting a vitamin regimen and gut healing hoping to help with this. My reasoning for this is I strongly believe her heart medications played a very big role in her neurological development, not just in how they affected her brain itself as it developed but also in how they affected her poor tummy, and I'm a big believer in the impacts of gut health.
You can read more about the severity levels of Autism here: https://www.healthline.com/health/levels-of-autism#level-autism but here's K's specific level:
People with level 1 autism have noticeable issues with communication skills and socializing with others. They can usually have a conversation, but it might be difficult to maintain a back-and-forth banter. Others at this level might find it hard to reach out and make new friends. According to the DSM-5, people who receive a diagnosis of level 1 autism require support.
Symptoms relating specifically to K:
- ability to engage with a person but may struggle to maintain a give-and-take of a typical conversation
- difficulty planning and organizing (K hyper plans and hyper organizes)
People with level 1 autism often maintain a high quality of life with little support. This support usually comes in the form of behavioral therapy or other types of therapy. Both of these approaches can help improve social and communication skills. Behavioral therapy can also help develop positive behaviors that might not come naturally.
Second: K is Knock Kneed. http://www.childrenshospital.org/conditions-and-treatments/conditions/k/knock-knees/symptoms-and-causes
Initially her pediatrician told us we'd need to do x-rays in two years and very likely have surgery to place metal plates in her knees to correct her. In a desperate attempt to avoid surgery I took K in to see our family chiropractor. I never believed in chiropractic care before, until we found a truly amazing chiropractor who doesn't just snap and pop you and create more issues, this man is our hero. He doesn't snap and pop, instead he manipulates and maneuvers your joints to adjust them back into their rightful place. Typically he says "OK, you're done, see you when you feel you need me again!" and it's months, or over a year, before we're back, unless what he corrected was causing severe problems, in which case he'll have you come back 1-2 weeks later for one more adjustment to get everything correct, but after that you're good to go for months or a year, or maybe longer! When I say "family" chiropractor it's because we learned having certain kids adjusted helps them to poop (sorry, there's no better way to say that), certain ones an adjustment betters their attitude, and certain ones sleep a whole lot better after an adjustment, so we take advantage of the "family deal", which is cheaper than 2 or more individual appointments, and we take everyone in. I asked our chiropractor about K's knocked knees and he examined her, watched her walk, watched her movements and said "No surgery! We can fix this!", K has very flat arches, and her body is compensating by rolling her feet from the outside edges in when she walks which in turn has turned her knees in. He fitted her for arch inserts for her shoes, they'll help her feet form a proper arch and with her no longer rolling her feet when she walks her knees should turn back out where they should be, it's a 4 year treatment plan, very minimal visits to the chiropractor for it, and arch inserts that fit 2 shoe sizes, and with the super slow rate my kids feet typically grow we just might get 4 years out of one set of inserts.
Third: K is progressing with scoliosis. https://clear-institute.org/learning-about-scoliosis/?gclid=Cj0KCQiA7OnxBRCNARIsAIW53B-2ujNe1HWtt2KuAtud4RsHhiNwHOlI2-jSRAdR5cQd00scYZYPMEUaAnvSEALw_wcB
So, typically scoliosis is passed from mother to daughter. With my mom having scoliosis, I have it, and my only sister has it, so the pediatrician has been watching K closely since she was a toddler, predicting she'll have scoliosis to some degree. When K was 5 her pediatrician suggested K's curve to be at 4 degrees, she could only just barely see the curve when K bent over but not at any other angle, she measured it the best she could without an x-ray and came to the 4 degree guess, at her 8 year well exam it had definitely progressed, when K bent over the pediatrician could see the curve without question and as K rolled to an upright position the pediatrician watched her back curve in a slight "S", so it's worse than it was at age 5 without a doubt, but without an x-ray we really cannot know just how bad it is. Puberty is the time to treat so we're playing the waiting game while watching closely. My sister had to have major back surgery to correct her scoliosis so I have been quite stressed over K. In another desperate attempt to avoid surgery, and a somewhat desperate attempt to avoid back braces I asked our chiropractor about it. I'm telling you, this man is amazing. He said he can usually lessen the degree of curvature in scoliosis patients without surgery or back braces, yay! He'll x-ray K when she's 12 and we'll go from there, but if her curvature is 7 degrees or more he will definitely start treatment, which includes the use of a gravity table.
Good news: K absolutely loves dance, she has been keeping us busy with Ballet, Hip Hop, Tap, Jazz, and Tumbling and she does very well in all of them, she's really proud to have a near perfect cartwheel, handstand, amazing headstand, and backbend kickover, she's working hard to get a back walkover down now. She loves soccer and plays in the city league every fall, she thinks she likes softball but so far has only tried coach pitch level, we shall see if she still likes it this year after trying peer pitch, and she has been begging to try basketball, I've only held her off for scheduling sake because this mama is feeling super stretched thin between her and her brothers playing all these sports and dance classes.
So, there's our past year in somewhat of a nutshell.
